A Thought For Thursday.

"Motherhood is near divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels."

The Message of the First Presidency. October 1942

I think it is something we mothers need to be reminded of. Especially when we don't feel very angelic. We do hold the highest of callings!

On To The Mouse.

My plan was to post everyday about the trip until it was done. We've got something brewing at our house, though. Isaac and Daniel have it grossly bad and I just can't get the energy to do anything. My body aches and my eyes keep tearing up. I can't sleep either. Anyhoo, I realize I need to get this done because other things are going on in our lives that need to be blogged. So here's the day we go to Disneyland!

We met at grandma and grandpa's room at 8:30 on Monday morning. Ready for action. Daniel finally sent 2 of our kiddos with 2 cousins reeling around the 2nd floor's walkway for a bit. They had some serious energy bubbling up. We all headed out to the sidewalk and snapped a picture of our kiddos with 2 cousins, Emma and Zach. Isaac is the serious one who wouldn't break forth into smiles for anything. The machinations of his mind are an enigma.
We all proceeded to cross the street to the magical world of Disney.
We got into the park without any problemos and began the pictures until we could gather together. Here is most of the group. Daniel, Aunt Nicole and a stranger were taking the pictures. See my gorgeous niece Jillynne next to me there on the end? She just got her mission call to California and will be speaking Spanish. She will be an awesome missionary.
Here's our quaint little group of groupies. You can't tell, but my mouth is clenched shut while I'm yelling at Daniel to hurry and take the picture. I think he was trying to figure out the setting it was on. Or something.
We spent the morning in Disneyland, mostly in Tomorrow Land. Hey! Here we are heading to Tomorrow Land.
We wanted to get on Space Mountain and do Star Tours and move on. But we began with Astro Blasters. Now this was a fun ride. Never go in thinking it's a dumb kid game ride. It's a fun everybody game ride. You rack up points while shooting at the little targets. Oh Fun!
Yes. Let's take a picture of Jennie's rear as she embarks on the ride. We need to discuss picture taking etiquette. And that's grandpa up there above my head getting on.
So the rest of the morning was filled with Star Tours, Space Mountain, a brief stand in line for Nemo's submarine thing until everyone decided they wanted to go on the Matterhorn. So we jumped out of line and headed to the Matterhorn. We eventually made our way over to California Adventure to pick up our lunches which we ordered in advance to reserve our spots for World of Color. How many children does it take to complain about cold fried chicken for a mom to begin force feeding her children? Oh I don't know. My children never complain. Especially about cold fried chicken. Or the fact that there isn't a microwave around.
After lunch we....well, I really don't remember. It's all a blur. We may have gone back to Disneyland. We may have stayed in California Adventure. Well, now that I think about it, I think we split up into a couple of groups. We left and went back to Disneyland and rode stuff. Lots of stuff. That evening we were in California Adventure for World Of Color. Oh my. Here is my family, cold and tired, waiting for the show.
By the time it began I had a few children who would have rather just gone back to the hotel. We hadn't been back all day and so we didn't get our sweatshirts. We were chilly. But then it started. All eyes on the water!
I wish we could have gotten pictures of the kids' faces. They loved it. Couldn't take their eyes off the water.
These pictures just in no way do it justice. It was an amazing show to watch. All water and lights and even some fire.
After the show Nicole said I was wet. How did I get so wet? But she was wet, too. She realized when she put her hands through her hair that she was also very wet. But it was worth it.
We got back to the hotel and were out like 5 lights. My plan was to let everyone sleep as long as they wanted before heading back. Even if everyone else went ahead of us. Well, everyone was tired. So the next day we began at 10 am in California Adventure.

This Is Only Once In A Life Time.

We have to go back to the Friday before we began our trip to Disneyland. Why? Didn't you read it? We have to. Because I said so. Because it involves my thumb. My poor poor thumb. I went in for a Cortisone shot for the trigger finger. The surgeon gave me 2 options and expected me to choose one. NOW! The first was the Cortisone shot. Duh. Isn't that why I'm here?! But he said that because of my diabetes it may not work. So I may be in for the second option pretty quickly. The second option was this..."Surgery". He would go into my thumb with a needle and with that needle, cut the casing around the tendon to loosen it so the triggering would stop. Um. I opted for the shot. He said it's cheaper anyway and then if it doesn't help I needed to just come back and get the "surgery" done.

So he got the needle with the Cortisone and the big bandage and the cup with the alcohol and swipes in it. He dowsed my thumb with alcohol and then asked if I was ready. I asked if it would hurt. He stopped. Then he said it would sting. So I looked away and he shot me. Now at first it was just a sting. But that was just the initial sting of the needle going in. When he pushed that Cortisone in it quite literally felt like bubbles and rocks going up my thumb. Yup. Bubbles and rocks. I yelped and bit my lip and tried not to cry. The yelping brought out the dad in the surgeon. He tried to soothe me. Then he took the needle out and stuck the big bandage on it to stop the bleeding then said it would be numb for a while. I said I was going to Disneyland the next day and he said it wouldn't be numb that long.

So I left and began all the stuff I had planned that day so we would be ready to leave early the following morning. Have you ever pondered the importance of opposable thumbs? No? I have. Many times over. I have dropped things enough to know just how necessary they are. We are quite amazing creatures if you think about it. Oh, plus we can drive and cook and stuff. Way better to have opposable thumbs and be able to drive, etc, etc. Could you imagine being an elephant and the calluses on your hands? And no opposable thumbs to open a bag of chips. Amazing! I don't know how elephants do it.

As the numbness wore off I could feel the tenderness where he shot me. It was tender through the weekend. And my joint was still not bending. So I figured I'd just make the appointment for the "surgery" when we got home again. BUT!! And that's a big but! The pain and tenderness AND unbendableness was gone by Sunday. It still triggers a little but it doesn't cause excruciating pain! YAY! And as the week went on the triggering got better and more subtle. It still does it sometimes, but no pain and I don't drop stuff.

So Saturday morning began early. We needed to be to Daniel's folks' house by 7 am to meet everyone to start driving out. We chose the speed we would go and got on our way. Our mantra for the whole trip was "Once In A Life Time!" We won't ever come back so enjoy it and don't whine. The trip out was long and boring but the kids stayed busy with movies and their DS games. Daniel even surprised the kids with a couple of new DS games. We got into Anaheim while it was still light out, got checked into our hotel and were amazed we were actually there!

That night we all went to dinner at Denny's and then hit the sack. On Sunday morning we went to a nearby ward's 11 am Sacrament Meeting. You could tell this was normal for them because the man who gave the opening prayer prayed that all the visitors would enjoy their vacations and be safe and travel home safely, etc, etc. When they did ward business, they called a new Cub leader and said that with only 1 Cub Scout in the ward, they would be combining with Anaheim 2nd ward's 3 Cub Scouts to have a terrific program. Daniel and I just glanced at each other. At one time Alison and I had 17 boys in our Wolf Den. And that's only the 8 year olds!! After Sacrament Meeting, everyone else in our group decided to stay for the rest of the meetings and we decided to leave. Yes. That's just how it went. But we got to the car and began driving away and Daniel asked one of the kids about the hotel key card. That began a frantic search for the only key card we had brought to church with us. We went back to the church and searched the parking lot, the car, the halls and the chapel. No hotel key card. I calmly told the children they would have to stay in their Sunday clothes the rest of the trip and we would have to beg for food and since our tickets were in the safe in the room to which we had no key, we wouldn't be going to Disneyland. They were sad for about 2 seconds. They know me too well. And don't worry. This won't be the last lost key card. We lost a few key cards this trip. We got a new card and got changed and then went to walk around town. The kids loved this tree for some reason. So this is our first picture of our trip...
And Isaac...

While the rest of our family went to see the LA temple, we went to the hotel pool and took naps and stuff. Because we couldn't stand another moment in the car. But we were rested and ready to go on Monday morning. The plan was to meet at grandma and grandpa's room at 8:30 and head to Disneyland. To see this guy....

Now I will just tell you this just once. This thread of blogging is so my family has a record of our trip to Disneyland. It isn't necessarily for your entertainment. Although I think I can guarantee a few entertaining moments. But if you find it boring or anything similar, just remember, you've been warned. We only got one day's worth of pictures but I've got many days of story to tell. So stick with me. Or don't.

Cute Quips.

First, a Cute Quip...

Isaac: "Sam. Have you ever blinked your eyes at night when you're in bed and when you opened your eyes it's morning?"

Sam: (Giggling) "Yeah! I just had that happen last night!"

That little exchange tickled my funny bone just right. Man, they make me laugh.

Second, my Cute family...
And I haven't had a chance to sit and really think and process the whole Disneyland trip to be able to blog it yet. I have been doing laundry for 2 straight days and finally have some milk and bread in the house again. I feel like I have jetlag. And it was only an hour time difference. But I can give you a little hint as to how it all went...

FUN!!

EXCITING!!

WE WANT TO GO BACK!!

4 DAY PASSES NEXT TIME!!

SCHOOL AND WORK ARE SUCH A BORE!!

Luckily no one broke into our home while we were away. So no one really got to enjoy the cleanliness while we were gone. Although I did enjoy it for a few moments right after we walked in the door.

Hmmm...

So I'm just wondering. When your house looks terrific because you just spent hours each day cleaning it, do you ever look at it and think, "Wow! If someone breaks into my house I sure hope they take a moment to enjoy the cleanliness"?

No?

Okay then.

A Bit Of Boasting.

I was going to boast about how few flies have been in my house and how I really only had one so far. We are so good about closing doors and no flies get in my house. I'm so lucky. No flies. Wa wa wa.

But last night I killed several. Then Daniel killed a couple. Now there are like 2 more that I could see as soon as I walked in the house this morning. And there's a fly in my car. Nasty thing.

So I was trying to think of something else to boast about. Hmmmm...

My house is almost clean. But not completely. So can't boast yet.

I get to put my feet up and relax. So not true. So much yet to do so no boasting.

I have crossed so many things off my To Do list it's insane. But there is still more...

I got a great night's sleep. Umm. For 3 mornings I have woken up before 6 am and can't get back to sleep and then I have to get up anyway because I have had to be to a doctor appointment or the school for the Book Fair or other such nonsense, ahem, stuff.

Here's one...Soon my house will be clean! My To Do list will be done. I will be able to sit and relax. In the car. And then we will be in Disneyland.

Ahh. Feels good to boast.

It's My Trigger Finger.

Remember that crashed bottle of tomato juice? Um. I dropped it. I thought it was arthritis. I finally went to see a doctor because I can't bend my right thumb smaller joint. The pain is intense in my big thumb joint. I keep dropping things. I just chalked it up to arthritis cause it was easy to do. But guess what? It's my tendon. And it's called Trigger Finger. Isn't that fun?!
So I get to go in to the hand surgeon that did my carpal tunnel release surgeries. He'll inject steroids into it and hope that does the trick. Because we leave for Disneyland soon after! And no, my thumb is not swollen. I took a bad picture with my left hand. Which is my dumb hand. Okay?!

The Heat Is On.

It's finally here. That official Fall weather. This is my most favorite time. This morning I opened the windows, as I usually do, when I got up. Usually it just causes a small breeze and the heat eventually gets to me and I turn the AC on. But today? Well today was special. When I opened the windows it chilled the house. We are no longer holding at 72 degrees as the house low temperature. We're down to 70. I eventually closed the windows and then just opened one back up. I love the sound and smell of rain. I love how quickly things cool down. I loved turning on the heat in the car after Cub Scouts today. I am looking forward to the sound, smell and feel of the house heat coming on for the first time. Tonight? Not sure yet.

A steady 70 degrees is fine with me.

Is your house heat on yet?

Saturday Is A Special Day.

Today was the day. But first...we began with Laps For Lyndsay. Yay!!

When we got home Daniel said that next week is the deadline for Sam and Ruth to have their money ready to buy their DS systems for our upcoming trip to Disneyland. So they got right to work on today's jobs and then had a payday. They each had to raise $110 for the system and a game. And they reached their goal.
So off they went. Ruthie came home with a pink DS. Yay.

Sam came home with a silver DS with a "Guitar Hero" sticker on it. Cool.

Isaac got his previously purchased DS and they all sat, well, they are all sitting on the couches and playing. Daniel and I are anticipating a very quiet journey out to California.